Ukraine war: Teachers, plumbers and builders among volunteer soldiers preparing for the worst on Belarus border
In the forest and snowed-over swamps of Ukraine’s 621-mile border with Belarus is a territorial defence unit gearing up for the worst.
The 100th Brigade is mostly made up of volunteers – some teachers, plumbers, builders – who have enlisted to fortify the edges of the Volynska region and prepare against another Russian invasion from the north.
The 124-mile stretch of land protected by the 100th Brigade is now littered with anti-tank mines and marked by watch posts.
Kremlin blames attack that killed 89 soldiers on mobile phone use – Ukraine latest
“This is the height,” says Captain Vasyl Sydorchuk, a deputy commander of the unit, from the top of his newly built hill fortress covered in snow.
“Everything is well observed from here: the crossroads. You can work with grenade launchers, machine guns – you can use everything.”
Not far from Captain Sydorchuk’s hill is a village where northern Ukrainians have been living for generations.
They have been shaken by reports of a looming invasion from the border straddling their homes. Some of them have family members living only 12 miles away on the other side.
“We lived all together. Half of our people lived in Belarus. I used to live and work there. I have relatives there and we visited them often,” says resident Oksana Trufanova.
“Some of them believe us, some do not.”
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Just across the road from Oksana lives Nadia Andreveya and her daughter Svetlana. Nadia is 75 and has been living in the border village her entire life.
“I’m not leaving and I don’t want to leave and flee from my land. Where to? I am 75 and those beasts want to force us to leave our land,” she says.
“Let them die themselves or let the God destroy them.”
Her daughter has deep concerns after seeing the atrocities committed in other parts of Ukraine.
“After Bucha – after what those monsters have done there, I thought a number of times that it would be better if a missile hit me here than to experience what they do to Ukrainian people,” says Svetlana.
Nadia Andreveya, right, and her daughter Svetlana
A little way down the road cutting through their village is a lake that sprawls across the border. On one side, the last Ukrainian outpost. On the other, a green Belarusian watch tower.
Last month, Russian President Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a mass combined training operation after announcing a joint regional military unit in October.
Russia invaded Ukraine from the Belarusian border back in February and top Ukrainian defence officials have been sounding the alarm on another incursion from the north.
This time the Ukrainians insist that they are well prepared.
Explosions can be heard from Captain Sydorchuk’s hill fortress.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “That is from our guys.”
The blasts are coming from a spot a few kilometres down the road. They are part of a simulation exercise that the 100th Brigade is conducting daily in preparation for a potential new front on their doorstep.
A tank is parked up in a valley facing the bottom of a hill. Behind it, fashioned to a white pick-up truck, is a 50 calibre anti-aircraft gun manned by two soldiers in winter camouflage. In front of the tank, soldiers carrying Kalashnikovs weave through pyrotechnics.
“We are here with enough personnel and ammunition,” says Captain Sydorchuk.
“We are ready to meet them.”
World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
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